Refrigerator door with a compartment



Oct. 27, 1953 L. H. HINKEL 2,

REFRIGERATOR DOOR WITH A COMPARTMENT Filed Oct. 15, 1951 f INVHVTOR. Zes fer dial i711?! Patented Oct. 27, 1953 REFRIGERATOR DOOR WITH A COMPARTMENT Lester H. Hinkel, Evansville, Ind., asslgnor to International Harvester Company, a corporation of New Jersey Application October 15, 1951, Serial No. 251,337

This invention relates generally to a refrigerator door and more particularly to a refrigerator door which is provided with a removable container.

The most common type of refrigerator cabinet which is used for domestic purposes is the upright cabinet type having a front vertically hinged door. The food storage compartment of the cabinet is generally provided with horizontal shelves on which the food articles may be placed and access to the food compartment is readily available upon opening of the door. The door of the average household refrigerator is opened many times during a day and each of these openings causes a substantial portion of the cold air within the refrigerated compartment to spill out into the room and to be replaced by warm moist room air. This causes the refrigeration system to operate more frequently in order to maintain the food storage compartment within a desired temperature range. The moisture from the room air collects and freezes on the evaporator so that the efficiency of the refrigeration system is reduced and more frequent defrosting of the evaporator is required. To overcome these disadvantages, the present invention provides a refrigerator cabinet having a door which is provided with means for removing food articles from the cabinet without the necessity of opening the door. One object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator door with a container which is adapted to be removed from the cabinet while the door is in closed position.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator door with a removable container which is adapted to be loaded in the evening with food articles necessary for preparing a breakfast, then removed from the door and placed on a stove during the preparation of breakfast.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator door with a removable container which will be maintained at a higher temperature than the food storage compartment of the refrigerator so that it will be suitable for the storage of certain food articles, such as butter.

Another object of the invention is to provide the upper portion of a refrigerator door with a front opening into which a container is adapted to be positioned.

Another object of the invention is to provide a frame member which closes and seals a joint between the inner door liner and outer doorpan around the opening and which also supports the container.

Another object of the invention is to provide the bottom of the container with a groove which 9 Claims. (Cl. 62--99) engages a horizontal rib of the frame, and to provide a top portion of the container with a latch which engages the frame.

Another object of the invention i to provide the inner liner with projecting fins which contact a gasket on the refrigerator evaporator and serve as an evaporator door and allow the cold air within the evaporator to be in direct contact with the inner liner adjacent to the container.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from a reading of the following description in conjunction with the drawings attached hereto and forming a part hereof in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of the top portion of a refrigerator cabinet.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken along line 2--2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken along line 3--3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a rear elevational view of the frame which is shown in section in Figs. 2 and 3.

Fig. 5 is a rear perspective view of the container which is shown in section in Figs. 2 and 3.

For a more detailed description of the invention, reference is made to the drawings in which the top portion of a refrigerator cabinet I0 is shown in Fig. l. The cabinet comprises spaced apart walls I l and I2 having insulating material I3 disposed therebetween. The cabinet 10 encloses afood storage compartment or chamber [4 and a refrigerant evaporator 15 is secured in the upper portion of the chamber. A vertically hung door It is secured to the cabinet to by hinges ll and is provided with a handle 64. By manually pulling on handle 64, the door may be unlatched and rotated around hinges l1 whereby access to chamber [4 is provided.

The door 16 comprises an outer door pan 18 having inturned edge portions to which an inner door liner l9 and a sealing gasket 20 are secured by suitable clips 2|. The space between the outer pan [8 and inner liner I9 is filled with an insulating material 22 so that when the door is in closed position the food storage compartment i4 is effectively insulated. The upper portion of the outer pan I8 is provided with a front opening 23 and is bent inwardly around the opening into a flange 24 having an inturned edge portion 25 bent at substantially right angles thereto. The inner liner [9 is provided with a horizontal top wall 26, a horizontal bottom wall 21 and vertical side walls 28 and 29 which all extend toward the outer door pan l8 and terminate in close proximity to the flange 24. These Walls enclose a container compartment 38 therebetween which is void of insulating material.

A rectangular shaped frame 30, having cylindrical shaped projections 3| spaced along one circular shaped horizontally extending rib 33, and I an upper portion of the frame is provided with a downwardly extending projection or catchers-n rubber gasket 35 fits over the outer edge of the frame 30. The inturned ed dportion' 0f flange 24 is provided with spaced apa'rt aperture's through which the projections 3| extend. Suitable clips 36 fasten over projections 3| and secure the frame to flange 24 with the rubber gasket held tightly therebetween. A sealing rnaterial 31 is disposed between the frame 30 and walls 26, 1211518; and 29 of the inner liner IS in order to sealthe container compartment 33 from themsulation space of the door l6. gv-Removably secured within compartment 38 is a-drawer or container 39 having a front wall 40 and an inner wall 4 which are spaced apart with insulating material 42 disposed therebetween. The-edgesof the frontwall 4i) and inner wall 4| are secured together in any suitable manner. Inner wall 4| is provided with a lower shelf 43 and uppershelf 44 which are fashioned with common end walls 45 and 45. Front wall 40 is pro- ,videdjwith a recessed portion i? and a vertical handle 48 which may be grasped by an operator toaid in moving the container 39. A lower portion of inner wall 4| is provided with a horizontal groove 49-which is adapted to engage the'horizontal rib 33 of frame 39. Positioned between outer wall; 43 and inner wall 4| is a latch 50' having a plunger 5| which extends through a slot 52 in. inner wall 4| and engages the catch ,34 of frame 30.- Rod 53 extends from latch 58 through outerwall 40 and is provided with knob 54 which is located above handle 48. Rod 53 is connected to plunger 5| in such a manner that when knob 54 is pushed inwardly, plunger 5! will be moved downwardly out of engagement with catch 34.

- The front edge of evaporator I5 is provided with an outwardly turned flange 55 to which a i rubber gasket 55 is secured by clips 51. The inner surfaceof inner liner I9 is provided with inwardly extending baffles 58, 59, 50, and 6| As best seen in Fig. 3, the inner edge of each bafiie engagesgasket 56 of evaporator 5 when the door -|6;is closed so that the interior of the evaporator issealed from the food storage chamber M. The chamber 82 which is enclosed by evaporator |5 Will be maintained at a lower temperature than the food-storage chamber l4 and is usually termed the low temperature or freezer compartment or chamber. It is customary to insulate .the freezer chamber of a refrigerator cabinet from; the food storage chamber by providing an evaporator door for covering the open front of the evaporator. In the present invention the freezer chamber 62 is sealed from the food storagechamber l4 by the baffles 58, 59, 60, and El so that a separate door is not required. Inner liner I9 is preferably constructed from plastic or other insulating material and the rectangular the appended claims.

portion-63 which is surrounded by baffles 58, 59,

50, and 3| is constructed a predetermined thickness or provided with-insulating material, so that the-container compartment 38 will be cooledto a, ,propertemperature by the transfer of heat through the inner liner i3 When it is desired to remove container 39 from the door l6, knob 54 may be pushed inwardly in order .to lower, plunger 5| below catch 34. By

grasping handle 48 the container 39 may be lifted or tilted so that groove 49 is raised above rib 33,

then pulled 'out'of compartment: seen in Fig; 5, the shelves 43 and 44 of the container 39 are readily available for receiving food articles.

"After the food articles are inserted thereon, the

container 39 may be returned to compartment 38 and p'ushed inwardly to closed position where groove 49 engages rib 33 and plunger 5| engages catch 34a's shown in 'Fig. 3. Inner wall 4| of the container-f contacts gasket 35 and seals thereagainsts'othatcompartment 38 is sealed from the .;outsidesair..: The ,cold air within freezing chamber 62 contacts rectangular portion 63 of inner l i-ner IS adjacent container compartment 38 so that the temperature within compartment 38 will bemaintained within a desired range. It is contemplated that compartment- 38 be "maintained at'a'higher temperature than food storage chamber M in order that it be particularly adapted forthe storage of the essential items for preparing a breakfast such as eggs, bacon, fruit juice, cream, jam, and butter. The container .39 may be'loaded with'the food items in the evening and then removed from the refrigerator and'placed on or near a stoveduring the breakfast preparation. Because of the highertemperature ofcompartment 38, the eggs will be in a better condition for cooking, the strips of baconcan be more easily pulled apart, and the butter and jam will be in better condition for spreading than if they were maintained at the lower temperature of food storagel4. 3 Fromthe foregoing-description it will be apparent that a removable container is provided fora refrigerator :which will be useful for the storage of food articles. -A container, of this type will permit the removal of -food articles stored therein without the necessity-of opening the refrigerator door whereby the cold dry 'air within the refrigerator will not be replaced by the warm moist roomair so frequently. This will decrease the amount of frost accumulation on the evaporator and reduce the running time of the motorcompressor of the refrigeration system. By constructing the rectangular portion 63 of inner liner IS a predetermined-thickness, the temperature of the container compartment 38 \vill be maintained at a desired temperature. 1 V

Although the present invention has been described in conjunction with a preferred embodiment, it will be readily" understood by those skilled in the art that modifications and variations may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or from the scope of What is claimed is:

1. A refrigerator comprising a cabinet having a food storage chamber which is provided with a door opening, a door movable to open'andclose said door opening, said door having a compartment'therein and being provided with .a front opening 'whichfurnishes access into said com-- partment, a container slidably secured in said compartment and being adapted to be moved through said front opening, said container being provided withshelves for the storage of food articles, and said container having -a front wall which closes said'frontopening.

2. A refrigerator comprising a cabinet having a food storage chamber which is provided-with a door opening, a door movableto open and close said door opening, said door comprisingan' outer door pan and an inner liner'with insulating material therebetween, an evaporator securedwithin said chamber with the walls thereof enclosing a freezing chamber, said inner liner being provided with baffles which contact the inner edges of said walls and close said freezing chamber from said storage chamber when said door is in closed position, and a recessed portion provided within said insulating material between said outer pan and said inner liner adjacent to said baffles whereby the recessed portion will be'cooled by the transfer of heat through said inner liner.

3. A refrigerator comprising a, cabinet having a food storage chamber which is provided with a door opening, a door movable to open and close said door opening, said door comprising an outer door pan and an inner liner with insulating material therebetween, an evaporator secured within said chamber with the walls thereof enclosing a freezing chamber, said inner liner being provided with baffles which contact the inner edges of said walls and close said freezing chamber from said storage chamber when said door is in closed position, a recessed portion provided within said insulating material between said outer pan and said inner liner adjacent to said baffles whereby the recessed portion will be cooled by the transfer of heat through said inner liner, said outer pan being provided with a front opening which communicates with said recessed portion, and means for closing and sealing said front opening.

4. A refrigerator comprising a cabinet having a food storage chamber which is provided with a door opening, a door movable to open and close said door opening, said door comprising an outer door pan and an inner liner with insulating material therebetween, an evaporator secured within said chamber with the walls thereof enclosing a freezing chamber, said inner liner being provided with baffles which contact the inner edges of said walls and close said freezing chamber from said storage chamber when said door is in closed position, a recessed portion provided within said insulating material between said outer pan and said inner liner adjacent to said baffles whereby the recessed portion will be cooled by the transfer of heat through said inner liner, said outer pan being provided with a front opening which communicates with said recessed portion, and a container movably secured within said recessed portion, said container adapted to be moved through said front opening.

5. A refrigerator comprising a cabinet having a food storage chamber which is provided with a door opening, a door movable to open and close said door opening, said door comprising an outer pan and an inner liner with insulating material therebetween, an evaporator secured within said chamber with the walls thereof enclosing a freezing chamber, one side of said inner liner being provided with baffles which contact the inner edges of said walls and close said freezing chamber from said storage chamber when said door is in closed position, the opposite side of said inner liner being provided with wall members which are in alignment with said bafiles and extend toward said outer pan, said wall members enclosin a compartment which is cooled by the transfer of heat through said inner liner.

6. In a refrigerator comprising a cabinet having a food storage chamber which is provided with a door opening, a door movable to open and close said door opening, said door comprising an outer pan and an inner liner with insulating material therebetween, said inner liner formed of a plastic material, a portion of said inner liner being formed with wall members thereon which 6. extend toward said outer pan and enclose a compartment therebetween, said outer pan being provided with a front opening and an inturned flange therearound which extends inwardly toward said wall members, and a frame member connecting said flange and said wall members in sealed relationship.

7. A refrigerator comprising a cabinet having a food storage chamber which is provided with a door opening, a door movable to open and close said door opening, said door comprising an outer pan and an inner liner with insulating material therebetween, said inner liner being provided with wall members which extend toward said outer pan and enclose a compartment therebetween, said outer pan being provided with a front opening and an inturned flange therearound which extends inwardly toward said wall members, a frame member connecting said flange and said wall members in sealed relationship, and a container movably secured within said compartment and being adapted to be moved through said front opening.

8. A refrigerator comprising a cabinet having a food storage chamber which is provided with a door opening, a door movable to open and close said door opening, said door comprising an outer pan and an inner liner with insulating material therebetween, said inner liner being provided with wall members which extend toward said outer pan and enclose a compartment therebetween, said outer pan being provided with a front opening and an inturned flange therearound which extends inwardly toward said wall members, a frame member connecting said flange and said wall members in sealed relationship, said frame being provided with a raised portion, and a container movably secured Within said compartment and being adapted to be moved through said front opening, said container being provided with a recessed portion which engages said raised portion when in closed position.

9. In a refrigerator cabinet construction having a food storage compartment and having an open ended freezer compartment disposed within said food storage compartment, and having an outer cabinet door panel containing an. opening therein in alignment with said open ended freezer compartment, an inner panel for said cabinet door formed of a plastic material, said inner door panel formed with baflies thereon which will seal said open ended freezer compartment from said food storage compartment when said inner door panel is mounted to cooperate with said outer cabinet door panel, said inner door panel further formed with wall members thereon on the side thereof opposite from the side having said baffles thereon and in alignment with said bafiies so that said inner door panel forms a door compartment, when said inner door panel is mounted to cooperate with said outer cabinet door panel, which will be cooled by heat passing through said door panel adjacent to said freezer compartment.

LESTER H. HINKEL.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,046,909 Terry July '7, 1936 2,065,116 Constantine Dec. 22, 1936 2,114,169 Ball Apr. 12, 1938 2,136,558 Manshel Nov. 15, 1938 2,236,866 Benson Apr. 1, 1941 2,281,430 Grant Apr. 28, 1942 

